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GRADUATING CLASS OF FALL 2003. The See page 5 Volume 66 Issue 48 wsusignpost.com Monday, December 1, 2003 O Weber State University r 1 W IS S Medical Spanish course to enhance ability New class to diversify learning experience By Paul Garcia managing editor The Signpost Next semester heads, shoulders, knees and toes will go like this: "La cabeza, los hombros, las rodillas y los dedos de pies." Weber State University will offer Spanish 3320, Spanish for Medical Personnel next semester. David Nielson, Spanish assistant professor said the class evolved out of popular Spanish Club meetings that covered similar topics once a week. The faculty saw the need and decided offering a medical Spanish class would help students find more practical ways to use Spanish. "The reality is, we're recognizing that students need specialized courses," Nielson said. This semester, Nielson has taught a Spanish for business class that deals with human resource issues. He said the department would like to offer more Spanish courses for social work, criminal justice, law enforcement and education , as many students in the foreign language department have majors in one of those areas. Nielson said approximately 80 percent of the students in the foreign language department are returned missionaries who come back and don't know what to do with the language they learned. He said classes like this one will help them keep up what they learned and make them more marketable, especially in the Ogden area where, Nielson said, Hispanics make up 35 percent of the population. "So often they come in contact with Spanish speakers and they wish they could the vo- Ryan Harding, Weber State University freshman, looks at information about study abroad for the summer on the Latin American studies section of the bulletin board in Building One on campus. Harding is studying Spanish as his minor. cabulary and the knowledge to talk to them," Nielson said. WSU student Irene Bluvan signed up to take the class because it will make her more proficient at her job for the Weber County Department of Health. "Maybe I use 80 percent Spanish and 20 percent English because of the type of job I have," Bluvan said. "I work with pregnant women and I'm working with pregnant Hispanic women." Nielson said the medical terms class will follow his business class format where there are collective interviews, dialogues dealing with interpretation and vocabulary practices students need to act out. These practices will be going over X-rays, counseling, receptionist and patient problems where 10 vocabulary words from the current unit must be used. The class will be intensive, covering a chap-See Course page 3 Ethics, education play part in crime By Jeff Christensen correspondent The Signpost When Wildcats break the law: Part three of three After five years, the sting of guilt from embezzling about $18,000 hangs heavily over the head of George Ormsbee, Weber State University student. "I turned myself in," Ormsbee said after the local video store he was managing started to look into unexplainable discrepancies. The officer who had just signed a paper for Ormsbee saying he had completed 80 hours of training with the Ogden City Police was the one who booked him into jail. "He knew me, and let me go home," Ormsbee said. "Anyone else would have spent the night in jail. "I'm grateful," he added. "Don't get me wrong." Nevertheless, he can't help but think, "I got a slap on the wrist and got to walk away." When Ormsbee was taking the money he didn't think anyone would ever find out. "When you walk out the door with a pocket full of money you don't feel like you are going to get caught," he said. But he was. Ormsbee's crime is known as awhite-collar crime. He didn't have to break into a vault, or hold up a bank; he just went to work and came home with a little more money than he left with. "They might say 7 can get away with this because there is enough corruption in the county government that nobody is going to notice if I take a little bit too.'" Steven A. Van Dyke juvenile court judge The problem of white-collar crime has been in the news lately. It's of great concern to many, including Sandra Powell, associate professor of business administration at WSU. Her responsibility is to try to teach business students a sense of ethics and honesty. "About the best thing we can do to try to dissuade them from doing wrong is to show them some of the outcomes and punishments that have happened," Powell said. "I rant on Enron often. These executives knew it was a complex shell game." Judge Stephen A. VanDyke of Davis County Second District Juvenile Court said the reasons a well-educated person would break the law are "because they know how to get away with it, they know how to cover it up and they have the bucks to defend themselves if they do get caught." "The average criminal is making relatively small amounts of money," VanDyke said. "But the white-collar guy, with the good education, when he breaks the law he's embez zling tens of thousands of dollars." Van Dyke illustrated another reason educated people commit crime is by sharing a hypothetical example of a county clerk given the opportunity of taking $5,000. "They might say T can get away with this because there is enough corruption in the county government that nobody is going to notice if I take a little bit too,'" Van Dyke said. According to Debbie Mecham, WSU nursing student, the only way to deal with crime is for individuals to have an inner conviction and system of ethics. She explained how she knew she could never commit a crime. "I know I won't," Mecham said. "Because I don't believe in doing wrong to someone else intentionally and that is usually what happens when you are committing a crime." Michael Cena, chairman of the WSU teacher education department said the majority of a See Crime page 3 Confronting teen suicide By Amanda Stoker correspondent The Signpost Two years after her son's suicide, Ruth M ortenson still has a difficult time talking about it. Her son, Kevin, was 19 years old when he committed suicide. Ruth thought Kevin was an average teenager with a happy, positive outlook on life. She believes everything changed for her son when his girlfriend ended their relationship. "He saw her every day and talked to her every day," Mortenson said. "He felt like they'd be married one day, and it crushed him when she broke it off." A situation like Kevin's is unique, according to Janet Conrad of the Weber Mental Health Center in Ogden, Utah. It is rare that a single event, such as breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend, leads to suicide. "Mental illness is the number-one factor that brings people to commit suicide." Conrad said. "A breakup will just exacerbate. the problem which already exists." Ruth Mortenson describes the changes that took place in Kevin in the days before he committed suicide. . "He was like a different person; not my usual Kevin," she said. ."He became withdrawn and depressed. He didn't seem to care about anything anymore, which was so unlike him." All the symptoms listed are warning signs of teenagers considering suicide. Teen suicide is a problem in Utah. Utah teens are committing suicide at a rate higher than the national average. According to a 1997 Utah statistics report, 31 percent of males and 56 percent of females grades 9-12 attempted, made plans for, or seriously considered suicide. "More girls attempt suicide, but their method is different than the boys," Conrad said. "A girl is more likely to try to overdose on pills, whereas a boy will likely use a gun." Hospitals are often able to save a girl who swallows too many pills, but a gunshot wound to the head is usually fatal. Janet Conrad says a possible reason for the high teen-suicide rate in Utah is the pressure of living in Utah. The stress of having to be perfect and to be a high achiever may be too much for some. "I know I feel the pressure from everyone around me," said Telisa Layton, high school student. "It doesn't surprise me when I hear about people taking antidepressants or other drugs to deal with it." "If they feel they're letting people down by not living up to the standards, I can see how they'd make bad choices," said Kelsey Lyman, high school student. Stress is a big part of life for a Utah teen. According to the Journal of the See Suicide page 3

Public Domain. Courtesy of University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University.

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GRADUATING CLASS OF FALL 2003. The See page 5 Volume 66 Issue 48 wsusignpost.com Monday, December 1, 2003 O Weber State University r 1 W IS S Medical Spanish course to enhance ability New class to diversify learning experience By Paul Garcia managing editor The Signpost Next semester heads, shoulders, knees and toes will go like this: "La cabeza, los hombros, las rodillas y los dedos de pies." Weber State University will offer Spanish 3320, Spanish for Medical Personnel next semester. David Nielson, Spanish assistant professor said the class evolved out of popular Spanish Club meetings that covered similar topics once a week. The faculty saw the need and decided offering a medical Spanish class would help students find more practical ways to use Spanish. "The reality is, we're recognizing that students need specialized courses," Nielson said. This semester, Nielson has taught a Spanish for business class that deals with human resource issues. He said the department would like to offer more Spanish courses for social work, criminal justice, law enforcement and education , as many students in the foreign language department have majors in one of those areas. Nielson said approximately 80 percent of the students in the foreign language department are returned missionaries who come back and don't know what to do with the language they learned. He said classes like this one will help them keep up what they learned and make them more marketable, especially in the Ogden area where, Nielson said, Hispanics make up 35 percent of the population. "So often they come in contact with Spanish speakers and they wish they could the vo- Ryan Harding, Weber State University freshman, looks at information about study abroad for the summer on the Latin American studies section of the bulletin board in Building One on campus. Harding is studying Spanish as his minor. cabulary and the knowledge to talk to them," Nielson said. WSU student Irene Bluvan signed up to take the class because it will make her more proficient at her job for the Weber County Department of Health. "Maybe I use 80 percent Spanish and 20 percent English because of the type of job I have," Bluvan said. "I work with pregnant women and I'm working with pregnant Hispanic women." Nielson said the medical terms class will follow his business class format where there are collective interviews, dialogues dealing with interpretation and vocabulary practices students need to act out. These practices will be going over X-rays, counseling, receptionist and patient problems where 10 vocabulary words from the current unit must be used. The class will be intensive, covering a chap-See Course page 3 Ethics, education play part in crime By Jeff Christensen correspondent The Signpost When Wildcats break the law: Part three of three After five years, the sting of guilt from embezzling about $18,000 hangs heavily over the head of George Ormsbee, Weber State University student. "I turned myself in," Ormsbee said after the local video store he was managing started to look into unexplainable discrepancies. The officer who had just signed a paper for Ormsbee saying he had completed 80 hours of training with the Ogden City Police was the one who booked him into jail. "He knew me, and let me go home," Ormsbee said. "Anyone else would have spent the night in jail. "I'm grateful," he added. "Don't get me wrong." Nevertheless, he can't help but think, "I got a slap on the wrist and got to walk away." When Ormsbee was taking the money he didn't think anyone would ever find out. "When you walk out the door with a pocket full of money you don't feel like you are going to get caught," he said. But he was. Ormsbee's crime is known as awhite-collar crime. He didn't have to break into a vault, or hold up a bank; he just went to work and came home with a little more money than he left with. "They might say 7 can get away with this because there is enough corruption in the county government that nobody is going to notice if I take a little bit too.'" Steven A. Van Dyke juvenile court judge The problem of white-collar crime has been in the news lately. It's of great concern to many, including Sandra Powell, associate professor of business administration at WSU. Her responsibility is to try to teach business students a sense of ethics and honesty. "About the best thing we can do to try to dissuade them from doing wrong is to show them some of the outcomes and punishments that have happened," Powell said. "I rant on Enron often. These executives knew it was a complex shell game." Judge Stephen A. VanDyke of Davis County Second District Juvenile Court said the reasons a well-educated person would break the law are "because they know how to get away with it, they know how to cover it up and they have the bucks to defend themselves if they do get caught." "The average criminal is making relatively small amounts of money," VanDyke said. "But the white-collar guy, with the good education, when he breaks the law he's embez zling tens of thousands of dollars." Van Dyke illustrated another reason educated people commit crime is by sharing a hypothetical example of a county clerk given the opportunity of taking $5,000. "They might say T can get away with this because there is enough corruption in the county government that nobody is going to notice if I take a little bit too,'" Van Dyke said. According to Debbie Mecham, WSU nursing student, the only way to deal with crime is for individuals to have an inner conviction and system of ethics. She explained how she knew she could never commit a crime. "I know I won't," Mecham said. "Because I don't believe in doing wrong to someone else intentionally and that is usually what happens when you are committing a crime." Michael Cena, chairman of the WSU teacher education department said the majority of a See Crime page 3 Confronting teen suicide By Amanda Stoker correspondent The Signpost Two years after her son's suicide, Ruth M ortenson still has a difficult time talking about it. Her son, Kevin, was 19 years old when he committed suicide. Ruth thought Kevin was an average teenager with a happy, positive outlook on life. She believes everything changed for her son when his girlfriend ended their relationship. "He saw her every day and talked to her every day," Mortenson said. "He felt like they'd be married one day, and it crushed him when she broke it off." A situation like Kevin's is unique, according to Janet Conrad of the Weber Mental Health Center in Ogden, Utah. It is rare that a single event, such as breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend, leads to suicide. "Mental illness is the number-one factor that brings people to commit suicide." Conrad said. "A breakup will just exacerbate. the problem which already exists." Ruth Mortenson describes the changes that took place in Kevin in the days before he committed suicide. . "He was like a different person; not my usual Kevin," she said. ."He became withdrawn and depressed. He didn't seem to care about anything anymore, which was so unlike him." All the symptoms listed are warning signs of teenagers considering suicide. Teen suicide is a problem in Utah. Utah teens are committing suicide at a rate higher than the national average. According to a 1997 Utah statistics report, 31 percent of males and 56 percent of females grades 9-12 attempted, made plans for, or seriously considered suicide. "More girls attempt suicide, but their method is different than the boys," Conrad said. "A girl is more likely to try to overdose on pills, whereas a boy will likely use a gun." Hospitals are often able to save a girl who swallows too many pills, but a gunshot wound to the head is usually fatal. Janet Conrad says a possible reason for the high teen-suicide rate in Utah is the pressure of living in Utah. The stress of having to be perfect and to be a high achiever may be too much for some. "I know I feel the pressure from everyone around me," said Telisa Layton, high school student. "It doesn't surprise me when I hear about people taking antidepressants or other drugs to deal with it." "If they feel they're letting people down by not living up to the standards, I can see how they'd make bad choices," said Kelsey Lyman, high school student. Stress is a big part of life for a Utah teen. According to the Journal of the See Suicide page 3